Love Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be
by CSIobsessed444
Summary: Frank gets a detective partner that Ryan falls in love with. Completed!
1. Chapter 1

Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

Fanfic

Chapter 1

Frank groans and looks at the clock. 4:30 AM and he's getting called in! The text says: DB on Forest. Come soon.

Het drags himself out of bed and dresses quickly, not bothering to shower, just slapping extra deodorant on. Last night he was up late working on a case, and now was supposed to work a double shift on 2 hours of sleep. _It could be worse,_ he thinks, as he kisses his three daughters' goodnight a leaves a note for his oldest:

_Molly,_

_Called into work early. Sarah has soccer practice from 5 to 6:30 and Ali has dance from 4 to 6. There's pizza in the freezer and takeout menus in the top drawer._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Pulling his suit jacket on, he grabs his car keys and runs out the door of his colonial 3 bedroom home, not something usually found in Miami. It's October, and even though it's Miami, the breeze makes Frank cold as he gets into his police cruiser, parked right next to the minivan. The minivan was the third car he'd had this year, one was blown up by Horatio and a water cooler landed on the other, Frank remembers, as he pulls out of the driveway and steps on the gas.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

Ryan, in the middle of processing a Harley Davidson, is startled when his pager rings. He sighs and steps out into the hallway of the lab, looking around. He realizes he's the only one working the night shift, which means he has to go.

Pulling off his gloves, Ryan hangs up his lab coats and locks the garage so the evidence will be secure. He tucks the key into his back pocket and walks through the pin-silent lab to the parking lot. The streets are pitch black, he notices, even with the street lights on. A bird chirps and a squirrel scurries away as Ryan unlocks his car and slides in. He quickly stretches as he turns on the engine and backs out of the parking before booking it down the street and around the corner.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

Horatio, in a red Lamborghini, and Ryan, in a silver Lexus, pull up as Frank stands over a dead 30-something man. Ryan pulls out his kit while Frank stretches and does some jumping jacks to keep awake. Horatio chuckles at the sight of Frank doing stretches that look like they belong in an 80's workout video.

"Frank, what have we got?" Horatio questions.

"Michael Adams, 32, carpenter. One round to the chest. Neighbor found him and called it in." Frank points to the red ranch house they are standing in front of. "He lives there."

"Has the weapon been found?"

"Not yet. By the size of the hole, the bullet looks to be a .45."

"All right. Secure the perimeter and look around for the weapon." Frank nods and goes to talk to the police officer who is questioning the 60 year old woman who found him. Meanwhile, Dr. Tara Price steps out of the white coroner's van and walks towards the body, kit in hand.

"Hello Lieutenant Caine. Who have we got here?"

"Dr. Price, nice to see you. We have Michael Adams, a 32 year old carpenter. One .45 to the chest, according to Frank."

Tara kneels down and unbuttons the man's shirt. "Definitely a .45. Looks to be a through and through." She spots a small tear and makes it a bit larger to examine it better. "We also have one round in the leg, non-fatal, no exit wound." She pulls out the bullet and examines it before putting it in n evidence bag and handing it to Horatio. "This looks to be a .38 though."

"So we have two different bullets and no suspects."

"Looks to be that way." Tara sighs, knowing it's going to be a long day.

"Found a .45 bullet, along with the casing and a gun." Ryan comes over with both in hand. Tara holds an evidence bag open for the bullet and another for the gun. "I'll run them over to Calleigh."

"Take this .38. It's from the body." Tara hands him the other bullet. "Let's hope it gets an AFIS hit."

"Let's hope." Ryan leaves with evidence in hand and his kit, while Tara loads the body into a body and then into the van. "I'll head back to the office and examine him more."

"Thank you Dr. Price." Horatio walks over to Frank, leaning against his police cruiser.

"Frank, I got some information from the board. You're getting a partner." Horatio notices Frank's worried expression and continues. "You're doing your job fine; they just thought we need more detectives down here. She's young, so they want to pair her up with an experienced cop like you."

"All right. When's she coming?"

"Tomorrow. Her name's Melissa Callahan. She's 25 and from Boston PD."

Frank sighs and looks down the street. "Does anyone else know?"

"Not yet. Let me make the announcement today, okay?"

"Okay."

"You gonna be okay?" Horatio looks and Frank, concerned. He has always respected the detective and doesn't want to hurt him with this change. But this new detective will be a great asset to their team, and he knows Frank will teach her all she needs to know.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just different, that's all." Frank cracks his neck and rubs his head. "I'll get back to the lab for when Calleigh gets ballistics back."

"Good idea." They part their separate ways and head back to the team, Horatio worried about how this news will be handled.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

"Everyone, listen up." Horatio commands. It's now 9:30, and Eric, Calleigh, Ryan, Natalia, Tara, and Frank are seated in the conference room, with Horatio standing at the front.

"We're getting a new member of our team tomorrow. She's a transfer from Boston PD." Tara and Ryan immediately perk up, both being from Boston. Ryan still isn't too interested; he doesn't like new people.

"What do we know about her?" Eric asks.

"She's 25 and from Boston. Her name's Melissa Callahan." Horatio looks at each of his team members, processing the information. Ryan crosses his arms and leans back in his chair, Eric in the same position. Natalia has her elbows on the table and her hands cupping her chin. Tara has a smirk on her face, puzzling Frank and Calleigh.

"She's young, but very good. We're lucky to get her. Gentleman," Horatio looks over to Ryan and Eric, "no monkey business, like when Dr. Price came. Understand?" Eric and Ryan nod immediately, then look at each other. _Damn,_ they both think, _it would have been fun to play a prank on the new girl._

"Get back to work, everyone. We've got a lot of work to do."

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

_It's Wednesday, the day the new girl is supposed to arrive,_ Ryan remembers as he eats cereal with the news on before his shift. He hates it when new people come, or all forms of changes. When Natalia came, he refused to talk to her for her first two weeks. When Tara came, he played a prank on her with Eric, but only because Eric has the hots for her and needed help moving the body.

Wiping his mouth on his sleeve and putting his dish in the sink, he looks around his apartment and makes sure everything's in place. Being OCD meant he was always cleaning. He's satisfied with the state of his apartment after ten minutes and leaves, not wanting to be late.

_Everyone's in a frenzy today_, he notices, walking through the lab fifteen minutes later. He had to finish the car he started processing yesterday and wanted to start right away, so he was walking at a fairly fast pace.

He waved at Tara working on their DB from yesterday morning. _At least someone else isn't crazy about the new girl;_ he smiled, working his way towards Trace.

He spots the team standing around in a circle talking and halts. They hear his shoes screech and turn to look at him. He waves and walks over casually. "What's up guys?"

"We're waiting for Detective Callahan to arrive." Calleigh states.

"Oh yeah, the new girl." Ryan snorts.

"She has a name, you know." Calleigh replies, "And I'm pretty sure it's Melissa."

"Oh, okay Calleigh. Should I call her Detective Callahan?"

"I preferred to be called Melissa, but if you feel more comfortable calling me Detective Callahan, that's fine too." A voice says from behind Frank. She squeezes between Eric and Frank, and smiles. "Hi, I'm Detective Melissa Callahan, The New Girl." She says, putting extra emphasis on the last part.


	2. Chapter 2

Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

Fanfic

Chapter 2

Sporting a white polo shirt and jeans, Melissa smiles and looks around at the team. Ryan notices her flaming red hair and emerald green eyes._ Great, the new girl already hates,_ he thinks, still blushing from embarrassment at her hearing what he said.

"Hello, I'm Ryan Wolfe, CSI." He smiles a little, trying to be polite. _At least she's pretty. I still don't like her, but at least she's pretty._

"Hi." She awkwardly shakes his hand, and then examines him from head to toe. _Well he may be rude but at least he's eye candy, _she thinks.

Ryan, wearing a gray suit and green dress shirt, smirks at Melissa. _She's tall and skinny and seems quiet_, he decides. _Frank'll tear her apart; she'll never survive here._

"Natalia Boa Vista, CSI. Don't mind Ryan, he doesn't like new people." Natalia introduces herself.

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't. You didn't talk to me my first two weeks here, remember? And the prank you and Eric pulled on Tara?"

_Thanks Natalia,_ Ryan thinks. "Well I'm a little more mature now than when you came Natalia. And the prank was only for fun."

"Sure it was. Anyways, you're from Boston?" Natalia asks, moving on.

"Yeah, lived there my whole life. I went to Suffolk College, undergrad in criminal justice."

"I don't have anything against new people." Ryan whispers, crimson with embarrassment.

Melissa laughs. "It's okay. I'm not too fond of new people either, except when I'm the new person."

Calleigh, Eric, Horatio, and the recently arrived Stetler introduce theirselves, while Ryan stands in the back. Natalia is his good friend, but she shouldn't have embarrassed him like that. Sure, he has had a bad record with new people, but he kind of wanted to make a good impression on the pretty new girl, and that is now down the toilet.

After a few minutes, everyone disperses while Frank shows Melissa to her desk. Eric and Ryan head out to a crime scene that has evidence to be collected. Ryan knows Eric wants to ride with Tara, but the coroner's van only holds two people and they need the van and the AV Hummer, so Eric is polite and gets stuck riding with Ryan.

"So, you made a great impression on the new girl." Eric laughs as the pull up to a red light.

"Shut up Delko." Ryan snaps.

"I thought you didn't care about the new girl?"

"Then why do you care that you were an ass to her?"

"I don't."

"Sure you don't." Eric says sarcastically as the hop out of the Hummer, already at the crime scene. Ryan steps out of the Hummer and slams the door shut, pissed off at Eric.

"Don't break the Hummer, man. It's new."

Rolling his eyes, Ryan grabs his kit out of the backseat, Eric doing the same. Eric makes his way over to Tara with a huge grin on his face, making Ryan feel worse. _Everyone's having a better day than me already,_ he thinks,_ and it's all the new girl's fault._

"What's up Tara?"

"This guy was until 10 hours ago. He fell at least 10 stories off his apartment building, landing face first."

"Sucks for him, but good for us. If he was pushed by his killer, I should be able to lift a print."

Eric pulls out his duster and orange print dust and sweeps the dust over the body. He only finds one print on the victim's front shirt collar. "Huh. That wasn't much help."

"Maybe that one will. That guy could have grabbed him by the collar and pushed him forward."

"But he landed face first."

Tara looks around and spots a very tall palm tree. "That tree goes at least 10 stories up, approximately from where the vic fell."

Eric runs over to the coroner's van and pulls the back doors open. "Ryan, come help me with this."

Ryan runs over and they both pull out the ladder. Tara directs them over to the tree and they set the ladder against it. Ryan holds the bottom of the ladder while Eric starts to climb. Tara bites her nails while watching Eric.

"Don't fall and hurt yourself." She calls as Eric transfers himself from the ladder to the tree.

"I'll try." Eric laughs as he crawls on his hands and knees across one of the branches and towards the building.

Ryan watches the whole ordeal disgusted. He can't stand their constant flirting, which is on a thin line between pathetic and gross. It may be that he is in a particularly bad mood, but watching them just makes him feel worse.

"You were right, Tara. There's blood up here." Eric swabs the tree and starts making his way back while Tara has a triumphant smile on her face. Ryan, still supporting the ladder, starts to put crime scene tape around the tree. "We should find out who lives in that apartment."

"I'm on it." Ryan responds almost immediately. He is going to do anything to get away from those two. "Leave the AV Hummer with me. Eric, so you mind riding back with Tara?"

"I'm fine. You okay?"

"Sure. I could use help with the body." Tara and Eric both giggle at something Eric whispers as the pull the body away on its gurney. Relieved to be alone, Ryan decides that the apartment is on the 6th floor and since the apartment is in the corner, it has to be one of two.

Ryan sweeps the car for prints. He finds skin on the steering wheel and runs in through the AV hummer, discovering that the DNA belongs a guy named Mike Blanchard who lived in that very building, right near the branch which had blood on it. After going inside and questioning the man, Ryan is sorely disappointed with finding out nothing and heads back to the lab.

The last person Ryan wants to see when he goes back to the lab is Melissa, so of course that's the first person he runs into when he arrives at the lab. He groans as he walks into the hallway to find Melissa, Frank, and Horatio chatting quietly by the door. Ryan pulls his head down low, hoping they won't notice him. Thankfully, they are too deep in discussion to notice him skulking down the hall. Eric grabs him as he passes the trace lab.

"The blood I collected from the tree matches the vics." Eric informs.

"Great. I talked to the guy who owns the apartment closest to that particular tree branch. A Mike Blanchard. The guy claims our vic stole his car."

"That's the same guy whose epithelials you found on the vics car."

"Yeah. I'll tell Frank to bring him in." Ryan turns away to leave.

"What about Melissa?" Eric teases. Ryan ignores the last comment and strolls down the hall to the quiet threesome, still there.

"Frank, blood Eric collected off the tree next to Mike Blanchard's place matches the vic; same guy whose epithelials I fond on the vics car."

"I'll bring him in. Thanks Wolfe."

"No prob."

Frank and Melissa head off to find their suspect. As Frank opens the door for Melissa, she sees Tara closing up the coroner's van and heading back inside. Melissa quietly gasps and waves to Tara fast.

"Tara!"

"Mel!"

They run towards each other and hug, both shedding a tear.

"I haven't see you in forever!" They both say at the same time, laughing. Melissa notices Frank's, Horatio's, and Ryan's staring and wave them over.

"Guys, this is my best friend Tara. We've been best friends since birth."


	3. Chapter 3

Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

Fanfic

Chapter 3

**NOTE: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to update before Christmas. It's important to read, though, so read the whole thing and don't skip it completely. Thanks for the positive feedback and enjoy!**

"So you guys have known each other your whole lives?" Calleigh asks, stirring a cup of tea. The whole team is sitting in the conference room with Melissa at one end of the table, Tara at the other end, and Horatio standing up and looking out at the street.

"Yup. We lived right across the street from each other. Our moms have been best friends since high school." Melissa replies.

"Tata, why didn't you tell us you know her when Horatio told us she was joining the team?" Eric questions, looking very concerned at Tara. This causes eye rolls from Natalia, Ryan, Frank and Melissa.

"I thought it would be a fun surprise. A little blast from the past." Tara smiles at her friend. She prays that Melissa hasn't stayed the same since they last saw each other. Otherwise, she'd be in deep doo-doo with the team.

"That's so funny that you guys ended up working together. Did you go to the same high school and everything?" Natalia inquires.

"Yeah. We even roomed together at Suffolk. Our brothers always made fun of us and called us the 'terrible twins' because we always used to get in trouble." Tara replies, chuckling at memories of their childhood when they threw snowballs at the principal's house or tripped their Biology teacher, causing him to fall into the Charles River.

After a few more minutes of talking and sharing a few stories, Eric and Ryan go off to the lab, Calleigh and Natalia to the gun vault, and Horatio and Frank to a suspect's house. As soon as everyone's out of sight, Tara pulls Melissa over into the hallway.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? Where's Nathan?" Tara starts spitting out questions left and right. She needed some answers, and she didn't want to wait for them.

"Nathan's here with me, he got a job at Miami General. I wanted to surprise you." Melissa states, as if it's blatantly obvious.

"Are you attending meetings? Have you been cleaning up?"

"Yes, I found one on Wednesday and Saturday nights from 7-9. I start tonight."

Tara sighs, knowing that's all the answers she'll get for now. "Okay. I've got a body to autopsy, so I'll see you later." She starts to walk down the hall with her hands shoved into her lab coat.

"Wait!" Melissa calls and runs down the hall to catch her friend before she could get any further. "What's up with you and this Eric guy?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow night. How about me, you and Nathan all have dinner at your new place?"

"It'll be a mess, but sounds good. I gotta go set up my desk, so see ya." Melissa waves and takes off down the hall. Tara sighs and decides that maybe she needs a fresh start, so she came to Miami, where she'd have at least one friend. She'd burned too many bridges in Boston to go back, and San Diego probably wasn't any good for her the past few years either. Why she claims she was from Boston PD Tara would never figure out, and how she got through the police academy so fast that Tara didn't know would perplex her, but Melissa was here. Tara could keep an eye on her here, insuring she didn't screw up. Again.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

The next few weeks are very slow and uneventful. The Halloween party involves many pranks, one having Eric be the mastermind and one having Melissa be the mastermind. Melissa, with Tara's help of course, replaces Ryan's shampoo (the stuff in his locker) with liquid itching powder. Eric, with Ryan's help, takes Calleigh's lab coat and drops it into an ant farm. Other than the party, not many events take place until Thanksgiving. Melissa attends her "meetings" regularly, Tara and Eric go on quite a few dates, Frank worries about his oldest daughter's older boyfriend, and Horatio catches Ron Saris once and for all, locking him up on a double life sentence and possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.

Thanksgiving has always been Ryan's favorite holiday. There's no pressure of presents, it's not a huge commercial holiday, there's always tons of food, and you get to spend time with your family. When he moved to Miami, Thanksgiving became lonely and an extra day to work, not a beloved holiday like it has always been to him. This year, however, Horatio invites the whole team to his house for Thanksgiving. Frank and his three daughters are going, Calleigh, Eric, Tara, Natalia, Julia and Kyle, and Melissa would all be there. Ryan is especially excited because he can talk to Melissa over food, something that should have happened already because he has plans to ask her out, but doesn't have the guts to.

Over the past few weeks, Ryan has gotten more used to Melissa. Eric still teases him about her first day in Miami, but Ryan doesn't care. He starts to notices little things about her too. The way she smiles at him every morning, even though he was so rude to her. The way she holds her gun when they bust into a suspect's house. The way she comforts the victim's spouse or sibling or children when they receive the news or identify the body. Frank tells him that every time she walks by, he starts to drool and acts 'like a teenager in love'. Ryan doesn't care, because he feels like a teenager in love. Except this time, he knows its love. He knows he's in love with Melissa.

Everyone arrives at Horatio's at 7 on the dot. The food is still cooking, and everyone talks while the aroma of fresh cooked turkey fills the house. Ryan notices quickly that Melissa hasn't shown yet, and as the food is set on the table and Horatio prepares to cut the turkey, he grows more and more worried. Suddenly, the doorbell rings, and Ryan breathes a huge sigh of relief. Melissa walks in, holding a man's hand. He's around 6 feet with blond hair and blue eyes and a perfect tan, looking like a typical California surfer.

"Hi everyone. This is my fiancé Nathan." Melissa introduces while all of Ryan's holiday spirit is crushed in a single moment.


	4. Chapter 4

Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

Fanfic

Chapter 4

Ryan is stunned. A fiancée? How did he not notice the ring on her hand? All those times he works with her at crime scenes, he's never seen a ring on her hand. He notices it now, of course. It has a small heart-shaped ruby in the middle with two small diamonds set on the sides. _Exactly what she would want,_ he decides, as everyone goes around and introduces their self to Nathan. _This guy just ruined my favorite holiday, _Ryan sighs, _and now he's marrying the girl I love._

After grace is said and the turkey is cut by Horatio, everyone digs in. Laughter and passing of plates fill the room's atmosphere, but none of it cheers Ryan up. Laughter and passing of plates fill the room's atmosphere, but none of it cheers Ryan up. He tries to at least look happy by taking large helpings of stuffing, turkey, squash, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans, as well as two pieces of bread. Frank, sitting on his left, didn't even have half of that on his plate, but has twice the appetite of Ryan, and looked very surprised but knew the problem. _Maybe he's just trying to drown his problem with food,_ Frank guesses, _it wouldn't be the first time someone's done that. _

Natalia, sitting on his right, also raises her eyebrows at the amount of food on Ryan's plate. She nudges him as he takes a bite of squash. "What's with all of the food, Mr. sad sack?"

"Huh?" Ryan responds, obviously in his own world. "Nothing. Why?"

"You have enough food on your plate to feed the whole lab. What's up?" She takes one look at Ryan's eyes, then looks over at Melissa and Nathan giggling to each other opposite them and smirks.

"Oh, so you fell in love with the new girl. By the looks of them, you don't stand a chance. Move on, Casanova."

"Thanks, Natalia. You really know how to cheer a guy up." Ryan turns back to his food, feeling even worse than before.

"I'm just saying, they look pretty happy over there. There are over 2 million women in this city, and you had to fall in love with an engaged one? Find another woman, because she's gonzo." Natalia pats him on the back lightly, which surprises Ryan and causes him to turn around.

"But I do get falling in love with someone who's taken. Give yourself a little time, but don't sit around. Go out with friends. Pick up a new hobby. Don't focus on that person, because if you do, you'll never fall out of love with them." She turns away to laugh with Callie and Eric about the Halloween stunts pulled in the office. He notices the pained look on her face as Eric turns to Tara, sitting next to Melissa, and whispers something on her ear, then plants a quick kiss on her cheek.

Ryan considers what Natalia said carefully. _Maybe I should get a new hobby_, he decides. _Playing video games all the time is boring. I should do something outdoorsy, like surf or play soccer. _He remembers the surf board in his closet that his uncle Ron gave him last year for Christmas and decides to start tomorrow. _Uncle Ron always said he would teach me if he had free time, and he has tomorrow off. I'll get started right away._

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

Melissa knows there's something wrong, and she knew as soon as she gets in the car that afternoon to go to Horatio's. Nathan is picking her up, and her favorite Fall Out Boy CD is already playing, along with two extra large bags of sour patch kids waiting for her on her seat. First, Nathan can't stand Fall Out Boy, and second, sour patch kids gross him out. The last time he was this sweet was when she came back from rehab, and he forgot to feed her cat so it died. _This can't be a good sign,_ she knows, as she gets into the car and he kisses her on the cheek.

At Horatio's, he talks to everyone and doesn't just focus on his food, much to Melissa's surprise. He is a very introverted person, so his normal behavior would consist of staring at his plate or only talking to her, and answering everyone's question with ten words or less. Today, however, he's very social and talks to everyone, even Kyle. Melissa talks as well, but spends a good amount of time pondering his behavior. _What's wrong with him,_ she wonders. _What did he do to act like this?_

Meanwhile, Frank is staring at her with disbelief that she can't figure out. She didn't tell anyone she's engaged, but she is the right age, and he's only thirty, five years older. It's not like he's sixty or anything. So why does Frank look so confused and appalled? She gives up halfway through dinner and jokes with Tara about her and Eric and when-are-they-gonna-get-together type stuff. Still, the reaction of her colleagues bothers her. No one seemed very happy for her except Calleigh, who was still shocked but congratulated them, and Julia, who was very polite and seems like a generally happy person.

_Anyways_, she decided_, he must have drifted off into space looking in my direction_. She turns her head to Ryan, who has looked very sad the whole night but is currently making fun of Frank's baldness and rubbing Frank's head with his elbow to shine it. She laughs, and then starts to worry about Ryan. He told her how much he loves thanksgiving just yesterday, yet he's been so sad the whole night. _Whatever it is, it's his business and not mine._ Although they've grown to be good friends over the past few weeks, she can't figure out what is ailing him, and decides to worry later and enjoy the good food now, because Eric is about to snag the last of the cranberry sauce, and she can't let him do that.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

Frank stares at Melissa's fiancée and blinks once, twice, three times. He rubs his eyes, and the guy is still sitting there, a mirage to Frank. He doesn't believe the image in front of him. He looks exactly like his daughter Molly's new boyfriend that he doesn't approve of, the guy being thirty and all. He even has the same name: Nathan. But it can't be the same guy. He seems like a good, honest guy, and Frank doesn't think Melissa would pick a bad guy. But it's all very fishy, and Frank isn't going to forget his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

Fanfic

Chapter 5

Melissa walks into work on Friday fairly happy. She had a great Thanksgiving yesterday, and she can't wait to talk to people today to see what they think of Nathan. She realizes her announcement was a little abrupt, but how did they not know? They **are **CSI's; shouldn't they have noticed the ring on her finger by now?

She walks to her desk and sets down her bag. "Hey Frank."

"Hey." The Texan, father of three detective responds, looking up for only a second before refocusing his attention to his case file. He scribbles a few notes before closing the case file and swiveling around in his chair to face his young partner checking her email.

"So, that fiancée of yours?" Frank starts.

"Yeah, what about him?" Melissa asks anxiously. She has no idea where he's going with this.

"Do you two live together?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Is he around a lot?"

"Yeah. He's a surgeon, so it takes up quite a bit of time, just like our job."

"Have you ever suspected him of cheating?"

Melissa squirms in her seat. "Once or twice. Why?"

"Just wondering. Be careful, okay?"

"Okay. But Frank, if you think he's cheating on me, just tell me."

Frank sighs and leans back. He doesn't want to break Melissa's heart: she seems really in love, she just got here, and she's too young to have her heart broken. But it would be worse for her fiancée to not tell her and marry her while he was having an affair, like Frank's wife did to him.

"Fine." He finally says after a few minutes. "I think he's cheating on you with my daughter. She's only a few years younger than you, and she's got a new boyfriend who looks exactly like your guy. They even have the same name!"

Frank notices the uncomfortable look on Melissa's face and shuts up. His rant obviously went too far, and now he has made her feel uncomfortable. He also realizes how loud he was talking and lowers his voice level significantly.

"Look, just watch him, okay? I don't want you to get hurt." He says, meaning the comment in a fatherly way, which she seems to get. Over the past few weeks, he has started to feel like a father to her, looking out for her and making sure she doesn't get hurt…. Or hurt other people. It would break his own heart if his suspicions were true, but it would breaks hers even more.

"I will. Thanks Frank." She gives him a quick hug and a weary smile before running off to the morgue. She needed a second opinion, and fast.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

Tara and Ryan are looking over a fresh corpse when Melissa walks in.

"Hey guys." She gives a radiant smile that melts Ryan's heart.

"Hey." They both respond at the same time. A short awkward silence fills the air as the trio think of a topic of conversation. Melissa finally breaks with her burning question.

"Frank asked me if I think my fiancée, Nathan, is cheating on me. Frank thinks Nathan is, but I don't. What do you guys think?"

Tara sighs and takes a huge breath before straightening up her posture and replying.

"Look, we've been friends forever. I can be completely honest with you, right?"

"Of course." Melissa already knows the words about to come out of her longtime friend's mouth.

"I agree with Frank. He's been a total player from day one, and you already thought he cheated on you before."

Melissa sighs. She knows Tara hates Nathan to the core and would say anything to get rid of him. But the feeling in her gut seems to agree with what people have been telling her.

Ryan yawns next to her, suddenly reminding her of his presence. Three was the magic number, right? Maybe he could confirm her gut feeling or, and hopefully or, otherwise.

"Ryan." She turns towards him. "What do you think?"

Ryan gulps. What does he think? He thinks he hates this guy for marrying Melissa. He thinks that loving her is killing him and he should have stalked out the second she walked in. He thinks he wants to strangle Nathan with his bare hands. But besides hate, what did he think of the guy? He had absolutely no freaking idea.

"Um…." He stutters, getting off to a bad start.

"He kinda seemed like a douche. Like a guy who cares too much about himself rather than his loved one." Okay, so maybe that was brutally honest, but he has to say it. It is the truth and they all know it.

Melissa sighs. She knows being a surgeon can get to Nathan's head and make him cocky, but he is funny and charming not to mention good looking…… plus he was a bad boy, and Melissa always falls for them.

"I don't know if he's cheating on you," Ryan continues, "but I definitely don't think you should marry him. Marriage is supposed to be 'till death do us part.' Do you really want to be with this guy forever?"

Both Tara and Ryan look very nervous while Melissa processes Ryan's words. Maybe she shouldn't get married just yet. After all, it's a huge step in life and she only met Nathan two years ago. Maybe she should wait…..

"Hey guys. What's up?" Eric walks in, flashing his pearly white teeth at everyone, especially Tara.

"Hey Eric." Melissa responds quickly. She turns to Ryan and Tara, not looking Ryan directly in the eye.

"Thanks for your advice guys. See you later." She slides past Eric and pushes the double doors open, thankful for Eric's impeccable timing. Otherwise, she might have had to answer Ryan's question.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

Ryan checks his watch as his cell phone rings that night. 1:32 AM. Who would possibly be calling him at this hour?

Looking at his phone, he recognizes the number immediately. Melissa. Without a second thought, he picks up the phone and pushes it against his ear. The noise from the bar he is currently is seems to mute itself completely as quiet sobbing fill's Ryan ears. "Melissa?" He asks timidly.

"Ryan? Are you at the lab?"

"No, I'm out. What's wrong?"

She sniffles and blows her nose before answering. "Do you mind talking? Are you busy?"

"No. Want to join me for a drink?"

She contemplates this for a few moments, puzzling Ryan. What could there be to think about when you're asked out for drinks?

"Could we get coffee instead?"

"Sure. How about the twenty-four hour place by the lab, the New York diner?"

She quietly chuckles at the name, considering they are in Miami. "Sure. Ten minutes okay?"

"Yeah. See you there." Ryan sighs, slips the bartender a ten for his beer and heads out the door. He shouldn't be doing this, he tells himself. He shouldn't be meeting her for coffee. He's supposed to stay away from her or the hurt will never going away, like Natalia told him. But she sounded upset, and good friends go out for coffee with good friends when they need it, right? Even at 1:32 in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

Fanfic

Chapter 6

**Author's Note: I know in chapter three I said Melissa had been in San Diego for the past few years. For her story to work, however, I'm changing it here to the past year. It just works better if it's only one year. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the wonderful reviews! Have fun reading!**

"So, why'd you sound all upset over the phone?" Ryan asks, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Melissa and him are sitting in the New York Diner at 1:40 AM and, being the only people there, they had great service. Melissa pours five packets of sugar into her coffee, stating that it tastes better sweet. She dips her plain donut into her coffee and sighs.

"You……… you and Tara and Frank were all right. Nathan is cheating on me with Frank's kid."

While Ryan wants nothing more than to do a celebratory dance for being right, he honestly feels bad. She loves this guy with her whole heart, enough to marry him, and he's cheating on her.

"How did you find out?" Ryan curiously asks. He doubts the guy had the guts to tell her himself.

"I walked in on them. In the house that Nathan and I bought together. In the house that we were going to raise our children in. I caught them in **that** house."

_Ouch,_ Ryan thinks. _Out of all the ways to find out that someone's cheating on you, that one had to be the worst one of all._

"And I just needed someone to talk to. A friend. So I called you. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. No problem." When he reaches over for a napkin, he notices something. Something missing from Melissa's hand.

"Did you break up with him?"

"Yeah." She sighs.

"I kicked him out too."

"Wow. That's a lot to handle for one night."

"Yeah. I know." She smiles and sips her coffee, then pours herself a second cup.

"Look, you seem like you just need to relax. Are you sure you don't want to go get a beer or something?" He hopes he isn't being blunt, but coffee just isn't doing the trick. She still looks sullen and depressed. Maybe a loud bar would do the trick instead of a quiet diner.

"Actually," She pauses, giving Ryan a moment of hope.

"I'm a recovering alcoholic. Beer isn't the best idea."

"Recovering?" Ryan asks, not fully processing the words yet.

"I go to AA meetings twice a week and stay away from liquor at all times."

Ryan is puzzled. _An alcoholic?_ _She never mentioned anything like that._ _What else is there to her that I don't know, _he wonders.

"Have you ever been addicted to anything like that?" She asks, obviously trying to get the focus on her.

"I was a gambling addict for a good while." He remembers how hard it was to stop and feels bad for Melissa. _She must be trying really hard to quit if she turns down drinks right after she breaks up with her fiancée._

"How did you stop?"

"It took a lot of discipline and I went to meetings too, but mostly, you have to want to stop. Which you must want to, considering you turned down drinks tonight."

"Yeah. The drinking has screwed up my life a good bit. When I lived in Boston, all I did was party. But I moved to San Diego last year and met Nathan, so I became more serious about my future and started going to meetings.

"I guess that means you're not from Boston PD?"

She smiles. "Good pickup. Yeah. When I drank, it was right after college. I knew I wanted to join the force my whole life, so I got my undergrad in criminal justice at Suffolk.

But after college, Tara got a job right away and I didn't. Even McDonalds wouldn't hire me. I started drinking to get rid of the worry about a job and just had fun. But my mom straightened me up and made me apply to the police academy in San Diego. I got in, so she packed me up and sent me off. She didn't want to get rid of me; she just wanted me to get started on my career. I was a mess, Ryan. I was out all night every night, partying with people I didn't even know, and I loved at home because I couldn't afford my own place. Anyways, I went through the academy there, I met Nathan, and when he got an amazing job here, we moved."

She blushes at how long she's been talking.

"I'm sorry. I've been rambling."

"No no, it's okay. You need to vent."

"Thanks Ryan. You're a good friend."

"No problem." That word hits him hard. _Friend._ He will always been her friend, like how Natalia is always going to be Eric's friend.

"Let's talk about something happier." Ryan decides, moving on. "You were amazing yesterday at the scene. I can't believe you chased that guy down!"

"It was nothing. Really, it's part of being a detective."

"Nothing would be if it was a block. This was six blocks down Main Street, in your crazy five inch heel stilettos, may I add."

"Please. My stilettos aren't an issue. I love them. Why else would I have 27 pairs of them?

"**27** pairs of shoes? That's insane."

"Are you kidding? Do you know how many converse I have?"

They keep talking into the early morning, making fun of each other and talking about work and how much they both hate Eric Delko. Ryan is careful to keep the conversation away from Nathan and marriage and alcohol and topics similar to those. By the time they pay and leave, its 5:55 in the morning and Ryan is supposed to work a double starting in 3 hours and 5 minutes.

"Thanks for talking to me Ryan. This was fun. She gives him a small peck on the cheek before unlocking her car, taking the ticket from her car and driving off into the early Miami sun.

Ryan is delighted. _She kissed me!_ He smiles and hums a little to himself as he gets into his car and drives down the street.

At the intersection down the street from the café, a red light stops Ryan. When it finally turns green, he drives through, only to have a huge SUV slam into his car and send it spinning down the street, not to mention leaving Ryan unconscious and with a piece of his windshield in his forehead.


	7. Chapter 7

Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

FanFic

Chapter 7

**Author's note: sorry about the delay. School has been crazy and I've had absolutely no time to write. Thanks especially to Jag Lady, Delko'sGirl88, NickTonyK and Julie172006 for constantly reviewing my story. Enjoy!**

Melissa whips her head around at the loud crash behind her. She is walking home from her coffee with Ryan when two cars collided right behind her.

_The car totaled in the parking lot looks a lot like Ryan's car,_ she thinks to herself. She walks over and sees the license plate: R68ZF4.

_That's the license plate on Ryan's car. It must be him! _Running to the driver's side, she sees Ryan with a large piece of glass in his head and more covering his body.

She immediately grabs his arms and drags him out and over to the sidewalk. She carefully rests his head on the ground while checking his pulse. It's slow and faint, but it's there. She silently thanks the powers above her while hitting speed dial 3 on her cell phone.

"Can't you call Eric or Calliegh? It's my day off." He groans into the phone, obviously being woken up just now by Melissa's call.

"This is important. Ryan's been in a terrible accident." She explains the situation to Frank, who becomes more alert, while kneeling by her close friend.

"What can I do?" Frank inquires.

"Tell the rest of the team and meet me at Miami General." Melissa instructs before hanging up. She looks longingly at Ryan and even touches his cheek lightly with her palm before dialing 911.

"Hello? My friend's been in a terrible accident!"

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

"He'll need a chest X-Ray to check if the broken ribs punctured anything, and check the belly for bleeding." One doctor orders. They are racing Ryan through the ER of Miami General, and pull him into a room that Melissa determines to be Trauma Room #1.

As he is pulled into the room, a different doctor stops her. "Sorry, miss. You'll have to stay here."

"I'm his sister." She lies. She knows they'll let her in if she's family.

"Fine." The irritated doctor sighs. He moves over to Ryan and pulls on a pair of latex gloves. "How are his vitals?"

"Not good." One doctor responds.

"Is there bleeding in his stomach?"

"Yeah. The broken rib punctured his spleen and the blood's going into his stomach." A different doctor replies.

"The guy needs surgery now. Let's move!" All of the doctors and nurses surrounding him push his gurney through the double doors and down the hall to the elevators.

"Wait!" Melissa trails behind. "Should I stay here?"

"Yes." The main and obviously rushed doctor replies. "We'll tell you when he's done."

She sighs and makes her way over to the waiting area. She can already tell that this is going to be a very long wait.

After only about ten minutes or so, the entire Miami-Dade Crime Lab comes bursting through the doors of the ER. Eric, not noticing her at first, runs up to the front desk.

"We're here about CSI Ryan Wolfe."

"He's in surgery now. You can wait over there." The desk clerk point towards Melissa.

The whole team takes note of her rumpled black AC/DC shirt, jeans, gray converse and bare ring finger. Calleigh raises one of her eyebrows and Frank crosses his arms and just glares at her.

"We weren't sleeping together, if that's what you're wondering." Melissa replies, as if she's already read their minds. "I just needed to talk to someone and Ryan was in the same neighborhood, so we got coffee."

"Detective Callahan, were you in the car?" Horatio inquires.

"No. I was leaving and walking in the opposite direction when the crash occurred."

"So you didn't see what happened?"

"No, sorry. But I only saw Ryan's car, so the other one must have been fairly undamaged for the person to just drive away."

Horatio sighs. "All right. Calleigh and Natalia, you process Ryan's car. See what evidence you can get off of it. Tara, you can get back to work. We'll call and update you later."

The three women nod and take off outside. Frank finally sits on one side of Melissa and Eric on the other.

"I'm going to go back to the lab. Are you three staying here?" Horatio questions.

They all nod. Horatio runs outside to get a ride with Dr. Price before she leaves. Eric and Frank just sit in silence, making Melissa very uncomfortable.

After a few minutes, Frank looks and Melissa's finger and then her face.

"Was I right?" Frank asks timidly. Eric looks at him wildly, but then realizes that they are carrying on an earlier conversation and goes to get food for them.

"Yeah. You were." She pushes a tuft of red hair behind her ear and sighs, feeling very small.

"I'm sorry. I know how it feels. It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. It does." She chuckles.

Melissa decides not to mention that it was his oldest kid Molly who was cheating with her ex-fiancée. _It will break his heart_, she reminds herself, _and it's not necessary to what happened. All he needs to know is Nathan cheated on me._

Nathan must be psychic, because just as she started think about him, he walked down the hall at an incredibly fast pace and right up to her.

"Your brother?" He questions sarcastically. "Last time I checked, you were an only child."

Frank jumps up. "What are you doing here, scum bag? Shouldn't you be off screwing some other girl that got you dumped?"

Melissa stands up and grabs Franks arm, which is currently wound in back of him and ready to break Nathan's nose. "Frank, chill."

She turns to Nathan. "Ryan's not my brother. He's my friend, but I know they would tell me when he gets out of surgery sooner if I was family."

"Are you sure he's not just the guy you dumped me for? What is he, like your side boyfriend?

"For the record, you cheated on me. And no, we're not dating. He's my friend."

Nathan scowls, not totally satisfied with her answer but enough to stop harassing her.

"Fine. Whatever." He walks away down the hall, stomping for part of the way like a four year old.

"Well that was pleasant." Eric remarks. "I saw what happened. You okay?"

"I'm fine." She mutters, grabbing a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin from Eric. All she really wanted now was for Ryan to get out of surgery, but that was going to take a while.


	8. Chapter 8

Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

FanFic

Chapter 8

**Author's note: sorry again about the delay. School has been crazy and I've had absolutely no time to write. Thanks especially to Jag Lady, Delko'sGirl88, NickTonyK and LawDog for reviewing the last chapter. Enjoy!**

Melissa sits in a small wooden chair next to Ryan's bed. It's about 11 at night, and everyone else from the lab has visited and gone home. Ryan sleeps next to her, his face scarred and bruised. She sighs and closes her eyes to rest a little.

She knows she should be at home, get ready for her shift, but Horatio wanted someone to be at the hospital at all times with Ryan until he recovers and gets out of the ICU, at least. Eric would be coming in a few hours, so she just has to stay awake until then.

Knowing she won't be able to stay awake on her own, she grabs her wallet and heads down to the cafeteria for some more coffee. Unfortunately, she discovers it's not open at all times. She heads out the front exit and down the street to Dunkin' Donuts, waling slowly.

_What am I doing,_ she asks herself. _Why am I spending all of my time at the hospital with a guy who I barely know?_

_Because he's my friend, _she tells her conscience. _He was there for me this morning, so I'm here for him._

_He's not just a friend. He wouldn't have gotten up to meet you for coffee at 1:32 in the morning if he was just a friend. The only guys who do that for a woman is when they're in love with her._

_But he's not in love with me, _she tells herself once again as she pays for her black coffee and heads back to the hospital, walking faster than before.

_Yes he is, moron! Can't you see? He's totally in love with you! _

She sighs and gives up arguing with herself because she knows that her conscience won. Again. Ryan _has _been really friendly the past few weeks, and he was really nice this morning.

She passes a couple kissing passionately on the sidewalk as she walks back, probably saying goodnight. She thinks about those little moments that she had with Nathan, like kissing goodnight, watching TV together, or even just waking up next to each other. She realizes that in all of those moments, she felt…..incomplete. Like something wasn't exactly the way it was supposed to be, like something wasn't there that belonged.

The doors automatically open as she walks into the ER of the hospital and heads to the elevators. Sipping her coffee, she presses the button and waits, deep in thought.

_Maybe it felt wrong because it WAS wrong_, she thinks as she steps onto the elevator and hits the button for the 5th floor, where the ICU is located. _I always thought Nathan was the one, but……..maybe I was wrong. Maybe there is no "the one"._

_No, _Melissa tells herself as she gets out onto the 5th floor and heads down the long, dark hall to Ryan's room. _There is someone for everyone. I just haven't found mine yet._

When Melissa gets to Ryan's room, she finds him awake and fiddling with a Rubik cube.

"Hey. I just went to get some coffee. How you feeling?" She asks as she sets down her coffee on the nightstand and returns to her original seat.

"Not great, but better than I did when my windshield was sticking out of my head." Ryan jokes. He shifts his body weight so he's sitting up and facing Melissa.

"What's up with you? I don't really feel like talking."

Melissa sighs, picks up her luke-warm coffee and leans back in her chair. "I was just wondering…do you think everyone has a soul mate? I'm not sure if I do. I was just thinking because I ran into Nathan, and I realized how nothing ever felt complete when we were together like you're supposed to, and that maybe he's not "the one" for me. But what if there isn't "the one"? What if there's not a someone for everyone? Then what?"

"I bet there's soul mates." Ryan says, a hint of optimism in his voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Ryan continues, "God wouldn't put us on this planet for us to be miserable and alone. That's why there are billions of people instead of one or three or five. Some people aren't lucky enough to find their one, but I bet everyone has a perfect someone out there looking for them. "

Melissa moves from her chair over to the edge of Ryan's bed and puts her coffee back down. "Do you think you've found that someone?"

Ryan looks directly into Melissa's sparkling green eyes. "Yes," he whispers, "I do."

Melissa gets the message he's trying to telepathically send. _You're the one. You're that someone._

"Do you think you'll find that one?" Ryan asks, leaning in a little.

Melissa does the same. "Maybe. I bet it'll be one of those things where the guy's been there all along and I just never noticed. Maybe…"

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

Ryan can't take the teasing anymore. He just has to make a move now or he knows he'll regret it forever. Before Melissa can continue her train of thought, he places his lips on hers and cups her cheek with his free hand.

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

Melissa melts under his kiss. His lips are soft and he's very gentle, very careful with his next move. His hand moves from her cheek to the back of her neck, which sends shivers up her spine and makes the hair on her neck stand straight up. Her hand goes to his bicep and she grips his arm tightly, as if she needs to keep her balance.

They finally break away for a moment, both looking deeply into the other's eyes. Melissa's pretty sure her heart skipped a few beats just then, and Ryan knows that he lost his breath for a second there.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that." Ryan whispers. He chuckles and begins to move away.

"Don't." Still holding onto his arm, she pulls him just a little towards her, not to hurt him. "I've been waiting for that for a while too." She smiles and lets go of his arm.

They sit for a moment in silence before Ryan clears his throat. "Well clearly, I'm attracted to you."

"And I'm very attracted to you." Melissa responds.

"So what do you say, we go out to dinner when I get out of here?"

"Like a date?" Melissa asks.

"Yeah, a date." Ryan replies. Nerves suddenly overcome him. Did he move too fast? Does she want to date him? And what would he wear if she said yes?

"Sure. I'd love to." Melissa smiles and leans in for one more of those heart stopping, breath taking kisses that she's never felt before, but she knows it makes her feel……complete.

**Author's note: Yay! It's done! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. Hope you liked it!**


End file.
